“Fragility and beauty are two sides of the same coin,” commented the President of the Province of Belluno and new President of the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation, Roberto Padrin, on the sidelines of the handover with the outgoing President, Stefano Zannier, Regional Councillor for Agri-food, Forestry, Fisheries, and Mountain Resources of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. “The economy of many valleys,” added Padrin, “is closely tied to their visitors, and it is inevitable that the beauty of the Dolomites, amplified by the viral nature of certain images, generates the desire to experience them. What we must do is work on sustainability, awareness, and responsibility, as the Foundation has done in recent years, with the involvement of numerous local organizations.”
“A delicate but therefore motivating moment”
The Board of Directors, which met on 1st September at Palazzo Piloni, headquarters of the Provincial Administration of Belluno, also ratified the appointment as Vice President of Peter Brunner, Provincial Councillor for Environmental, Nature, and Climate Protection, Energy, Spatial Development and Sport of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol.
The Statute of the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation establishes that the presidency is assumed every three years, in alphabetical order, by the mountain territories where the UNESCO Dolomites Heritage is located: the rotation began in Belluno in 2010, and then continued with Bolzano, Pordenone, Trento, and Udine.
“I thank the outgoing president, Stefano Zannier, and the entire Board of Directors of the Foundation for the work carried out in these years,” continued Roberto Padrin. “I am fully aware of taking on this role at an extremely delicate yet equally motivating moment. This summer we observed, on the one hand, areas where visiting the Dolomites remains slow and sustainable and, on the other hand, hotspots that suffer from over-tourism and visitors who show little awareness of the fragility of the territory.”
“The UNESCO recognition is not a tourism brand,” concluded Padrin, “but a commitment, on the part of communities, to pass on to future generations the Heritage that has been entrusted to us. The UNESCO Dolomites Foundation has the crucial task of fostering cooperation among the bodies that manage and administer this Heritage, in addition to fulfilling its monitoring and reporting duties on the state of health of the Site.”
The greeting of Stefano Zannier: a reflection on the many (and diverse) contexts of the Dolomites
The outgoing president, Stefano Zannier, extended his best wishes to Roberto Padrin and thanked the entire Board of Directors, members of the Scientific and Technical Committees, employees, collaborators, provincial and regional officials active in the Functional Networks, and the many supporters of the Foundation.
“The values of the UNESCO recognition bring together the Friulian, Belluno, Trentino, and South Tyrolean Dolomites,” commented Zannier, “but the historical, economic, and cultural conditions are deeply diversified, and this is precisely the great richness of the Dolomite territory. Different situations therefore require different approaches, with different tools and objectives: this is the case with tourism, where depending on the location, one may face either excessive pressure or scarce visitation. Only by understanding the various contexts will we be able to interpret the paradigm shift we are witnessing, namely the increase in population in mountain areas, which is occurring unevenly. My experience over these three years leading the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation has taught me that when brought together, everyone’s contributions can help find the right approach in every situation.”
“I began my three-year presidency after the years of COVID, which marked a turning point in mountain visitation, often characterized by lack of preparation and imprudence,” Zannier recalled. “And it was precisely on this issue that we worked hard, involving many institutions and associations, with the conviction that the Foundation’s modus operandi can only be to build networks, not only among administrations, but also between them and the territory.”
Some projects
The handover was also an opportunity to summarize some of the projects that have been added to the routine work of the Foundation and its Networks. The outgoing president mentioned several projects aimed at promoting slower and more mindful mountain experiences, such as the “Dolomites World Heritage Geotrail,” which includes an itinerary, a web portal and, from this year, also a travelling exhibition; projects on prudence and awareness in the mountains carried out in synergy with numerous local organizations; analyses regarding the management of hay meadows; training courses for administrators, teachers, and mountain hut managers (the latter also central figures in communication campaigns and a long-standing networking effort); and initiatives to highlight the work of quality producers of World Heritage products.
Speaking of awareness, one must not forget the commitment to responsible promotion of the World Heritage Site, which has sparked reflection on the inconsistency between certain social media messages and the values of the UNESCO recognition, leading to the creation of a “Code of Responsible Communication for the Dolomites.” Alongside this, mention should be made of communication initiatives aimed at conveying the values of the Heritage Site and its inhabitants, such as the continuation of the program “Noi Dolomiti,” the #mountainhutlife campaign, and the production of nine documentaries intertwining the history of mountaineering with the geological features of the Dolomites, to be released in 2026.